Food and water are fuels in every facet of life. From providing energy to cope with the daily grind to giving us the nutrients we need to recover and grow stronger, what and how much we eat matters throughout our lives. The importance of this becomes apparent during long training hours, when you can no longer maintain your workouts due to low blood sugar or become a heat victim.
The fastest way to end your training day is to be dehydrated and under fueled. Fueling and hydrating before, during and after long training days will keep you active, but how much do we need?
If you want to serve in challenging military training programs, preparing for the rigors of military physical testing and training requires optimal nutrition, hydration and recovery. What you eat and drink is the most crucial, yet often overlooked, aspect of building your ability to handle long days and nights of physical and mental stress. Understanding and estimating your daily calorie needs depends primarily on your age, gender and activity level. Proper calorie intake not only fuels your workouts but also aids recovery, making your workout effective and sustainable.
When you prepare for military training, you are not just an athlete. Your regimen will likely push you to your limits: cardio exercises, strength training, long marches with heavy loads, and obstacle courses that test every muscle and tendon. Consequently, your calorie needs are significantly higher than those of the average person. Here’s how to determine how much food and water you need each day to maintain a high activity level:
Basal metabolic rate and total daily energy expenditure
Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the number of calories your body needs to maintain basic physiological functions at rest. BMR gives you a good start and an average of the number of calories you burn each day just by living. There are several calculators available online to help you estimate this based on age, gender, weight and height, such as the one at Calculator.net. I prefer this one because it also conveniently shows you the activity level you can add to your day and adjusts the total number of calories needed for each day.
For example, if you are a 25-year-old man who weighs 180 pounds and is 6 feet tall, your BMR might hover around 1,839 calories daily. However, if you exercise daily or have a physical job, the calories needed to maintain weight and perform will be a maximum of 3,173 calories per day.
If you want to calculate your total daily energy consumption (TDEE) based on your BMR, here’s how you can do it. Take into account your activity level, which can be categorized as sedentary (x 1.2), moderately active (x 1.55) or very active (x 1.725). Since you’re preparing for something as strenuous as military training, you probably fall into the “highly active” category. Multiplying your BMR by an activity factor (usually around 1.725 for very active individuals) will give you an estimate of your TDEE.
Using our earlier example, this amounts to approximately 3,105 calories per day. As you can see, the online calculators and the general BMR/TDEE factors provide similar estimates for the total number of calories someone needs to perform at their best (and maintain a healthy body weight).
If you want to lose weight, you would reduce your total calories per day by 500, which equates to one pound of weight loss per week. You could add 500 calories to those scores to gain a pound of mass each week. So you need to consider the amount of activity you add to your day to determine how much you need to eat to gain or lose weight.
As mentioned, these are ballpark calculations, and real-world scenarios may differ from these numbers. Your actual calorie needs may fluctuate based on the intensity and duration of your exercise sessions. It is advisable to keep a weekly food diary, track your food, water and calorie intake and record your energy levels, sleep quality and overall performance. I use a Greater Goods food scale that creates a food label for the food you weigh.
If you find yourself constantly fatigued or struggling to complete workouts, it may be a sign that you need to increase your calorie intake. If you don’t do this, you’re just guessing, and when your future professional opportunities are on the line, you can’t afford to skip the assessment and guess.
The quality of calories is just as important as the quantity. Good food choices are always the best option. Aim for a balanced diet rich in lean protein, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Avoid ultra-processed foods, as you need good fuel for high-intensity workouts, and endurance training will deplete your glycogen stores, warranting a higher carbohydrate quantity and quality of intake. At the same time, adding solid proteins promotes muscle recovery and growth, which is essential for the strength and endurance required in military operations. Good fats will also provide a solid calorie and energy boost, especially as the days turn to night and energy requirements for thermal regulation (body temperature) increase.
Hydration cannot be emphasized enough. Even mildly dehydrated people can affect their physical performance and cognitive functions, both of which are crucial during training and in the field. Drink plenty of fluids throughout the day, not just during your workouts. If you sweat profusely, add electrolytes because you will get cramps and the risk of heat-related illness will quickly follow every hour in the heat without water and salts. The quickest way to end your military training is to not properly hydrate/replenish with electrolytes. You can also die if the heat victim becomes heatstroke.
Long, hard days of training burn a lot of calories every day, especially if they are constantly exposed to cold air and water. Adding high-calorie foods at the end of the day or during snack time is key to sustained performance. Foods such as peanut butter, nuts, avocados and protein bars will help, while supplements such as protein shakes can be helpful but should not replace whole foods. However, most military training programs do not allow supplements. Think of supplements as tools in your nutritional arsenal, not as a foundation during your prep training. Real food should be the best option, especially during military selection training.
Finally, consult a nutritionist familiar with athletic and military needs to create a customized plan specific to your body and training goals. While online calculators and general advice are useful starting points, a professional can provide insights tailored to your unique physiology and regimen. The key is to avoid missing out on essential nutrients by making dietary choices. A nutritionist can help you avoid that costly mistake.
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